Bill Tieleman is one of BC's best known communicators, political commentators and strategists.
Bill writes a politics column Tuesdays in 24 Hours newspaper and The Tyee online magazine.
Bill has been Communications Director in the B.C. Premier's Office and at the BC Federation of Labour.
Bill owns West Star Communications, a consulting firm providing strategy and communication services for labour, business, non-profits and government.

Sunday, February 08, 2009

Some federal Liberal Party activists are wondering if and why new interim leader Michael Ignatieff is giving back power to key players who backed Paul Martin in the internally bitter and divisive leadership battle with Jean Chretien to become Prime Minister.

And they are asking questions, quietly and privately, about why controversial Liberal Bruce Clark is chairing the high dollar donor Laurier Club in BC, among other roles in fundraising for the party.

The Laurier Club is made up of Liberal Party members who give $1100 per year in a single donation or through monthly installments.

And according to federal Liberal sources, the Laurier Club's paid administrator is Forrest Parlee, a senior associate at the Burrard Group, the communications and strategy firm run by Mark Marissen, Martin's former BC lieutenant and then National Campaign Manager in former federal Liberal leader Stephane Dion's surprise successful 2006 leadership campaign and National Campaign Co-Chair for the devastating October 2008 federal election.

In the BC Legislature Raid case, Clark is alleged by police in Information To Obtain search warrant applications to have received government documents from Basi pertaining to a second BC Rail privatization, the proposed sale of BC Rail's Roberts Bank spur line for up to $100 million.

According to a police search warrant ITO sworn by RCMP Corporal Andrew Cowan, the residence of Bruce Clark -- then a federal B.C. Liberal executive -- was searched because:

"I believe that CLARK received documents pertaining to a Request for Proposal and presentations regarding Roberts Bank. I believe that CLARK has had meeting with BASI. I believe the items sought will be found at..." then giving Bruce Clark's Vancouver home address, the ITO concludes.

It should be stressed that the ITO contains unproven allegations that have never been tested in court.

B.C. Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon cancelled that sale in March 2004 after being told by the RCMP that the process had been compromised by the leak of confidential information to a bidder.

Clark's home was searched by police in December 2003, along with the BC Legislature, the home of David Basi, and the home of Erik Bornmann - the provincial lobbyist for OmniTRAX - the losing BC Rail bidder - who is now the Crown's key witness against Basi, Virk and Aneal Basi. The offices of Bornmann's now-defunct firm, Pilothouse Public Affairs, were also searched by police.

Bornmann's partners at Pilothouse were Brian Kieran, the former Province political columnist turned lobbyist - another key Crown witness, and Jamie Elmhirst - a past federal Liberal Party of Canada BC branch president and former aide to BC Liberal Premier Gordon Campbell and former BC Liberal cabinet minister turned federal Liberal MP Joyce Murray.And Clark's sister is former BC Liberal Deputy Premier and Education Minister Christy Clark, while his brother-in-law is Mark Marissen.David Basi was a key Paul Martin organizer in BC, blamed personally by former Chretien federal cabinet minister Herb Dhaliwalfor organizing the takeover of his then Vancouver South riding association in one of the nasty battles of the war between the party's titans.It should, of course, be pointed out that neither Bruce Clark nor anyone else mentioned here save Basi, Virk and Basi face any charges in regard to the BC Legislature Raid case, though it is highly likely Clark will be a witness in the trial.

Interestingly, many of the group of federal Liberal Party activists who strongly backed Paul Martin in his successful efforts to force Jean Chretien out of the Prime Minister's office and later backed Stephane Dion's leadership bid after Martin resigned are now said to be moving into position of influence during Ignatieff's early days as interim leader.

Will Ignatieff put his own stamp on the BC Liberal Party of Canada organization? Or will the activists who have controlled the party since the early 2000s continue to run the show?Interestingly, the Liberal Party's BC branch website still features photos of now-resigned leader Stephane Dion and promotes the discredited "Green Shift" carbon tax that helped sewer the Liberal campaign. It's a mistake the federal party website doesn't make.

Ignatieff's decision will have long-term repercussions either way, but count on the federal Conservative Party to target controversial Liberal Party connections in the next election if they are in positions of power.For example, in January 2007 senior Tory John Reynolds slammed the federal Liberal Party for the "embarrassing" failure to remove its B.C. branch president Jamie Elmhirst after he was subpoenaed to testify in the breach of trust case against former provincial government aides David Basi and Bob Virk. Elmhirst was under subpoena to testify in the trial for three months before he resigned as president.

If the federal Conservatives are looking for a target of opportunity, Bruce Clark certainly provides lots to work with.At last report, Clark is currently Vice-President of Green Island Energy Corporation, a firm that planned to convert garbage into energy in Gold River on Vancouver Island and sell it to BC Hydro. Originally pop singer Jewel was involved but she is no longer an investor.

Clark's role as a lobbyist for the Lower Mainland Hospitality Industry Group drew fire from anti-tobacco groups, including AirSpace, because it vigorously fought a proposed Vancouver bylaw restricting smoking in the workplace in 1995.

"Clark was CEO of a money-losing telecommunications company called Canada Payphone Corporation between late 1998 and late 2000, earning up to $115,000 a year.

Patrick Kinsella, the influential cochair of the 2001 B.C. Liberal election campaign along with Christy Clark, was a director of Canada Payphone from 1995 to 2001, as well as buying a private placement and having share options, according to Stockwatch.

The Progressive Group, Kinsella's consulting firm, also bought a private placement in Canada Payphone in 1996 and received shares for debt in 1999. Kinsella and his firm have given more than $50,000 to the B.C. Liberals since 1996.

Bornman was Canada Payphone's communications director in 2000 and 2001.

The Earnscliffe Strategy Group, a powerful Ottawa-based public- and government-relations and research firm, became "consultants" to Canada Payphone in 1995.

Earnscliffe was a "virtual parallel finance department" when Paul Martin was minister, according to the Globe and Mail, with the firm winning $1.6 million in communications contracts from the finance department from September 1993 until July 2002.

Earnscliffe partners David Herle and Scott Reid were both senior Martin political advisers who held enormous influence with the prime minister.

Canaccord Capital, whose CEO, Peter Brown, is a major supporter of Gordon Campbell, helped Canada Payphone with a brokered private placement of two million units, with shares valued at $1.40 each. Those shares are currently worth just nine cents apiece. Canada Payphone losses for financial year 2003 were $1.8 million while those reported for financial year 2002 were $5 million.

Canaccord donated more than $191,000 to the B.C. Liberal Party between 1996 and 2002.

Darcy Rezac, executive director of the Vancouver Board of Trade and B.C. Liberal political supporter, was another investor in Canada Payphone.

The Neighbourhood Pub Owners' Association of BC chose Canada Payphone as its official payphone supplier in December 1998. The executive director of the association was then Brenda Locke, now Liberal MLA for Surrey­-Green Timbers."

Ignatieff faces some difficult choices in BC - but that's what being leader of a federal party and wanting to prove you can be prime minister is all about.

25 comments:

Anonymous
said...

You may also note that Ignatieff himself is not eligible for membership in the Laurier Club because (according to a TV news report this weekend) unlike Chretien, Martin, Dion and Bob Rae, Iggy did not donate any of his own money to the Liberal Party of Canada last year.

It appears the currently impoverished BC aging army of "Marissenite Jugend" have found a new source of funding to tie them over until they can get back on the Federal trough.

This "lifeboat of pork" is no other than the Gordon Campbell re-election campaign which currently has lots of neo-con dollars to spread around over the next few months in its holy crusade to save BC from Socialism.

So many of the Gritty names you write about Bill will be showing up on the Campbellite order of battle in the near future.

One thing you failed to mention was that both Bruce Clark and Mark Marissen were supporters of Ignatieff's bid to become the leader to replace Dion, and would have had their hands full with that leadership race if there was an actual contest.

If they supported Bob Rae or Domenic LeBlanc, they might have been shown the door, but it's pretty hard to kick out the people who are helping you.

Bruce Clark & Mark Marissen having lost their last two meal tickets (Martin & Dion) are permanently on the hunt for anything with a open wallet, public or private sector.

So for these or any other failed Martinite Running Dogs to now support Count Iggy means nothing, since if Dick Cheney offered them a bit of pork they would be out there spinning for keeping Gitmo open.

You have to understand for this crowd the issues are neither Left, Right nor Centre . . . it all revolves around the personal-acquistion of money and power by any means "without having to break a sweat while doing so".

To the first poster: Not only did Iggy not donate to the LP, but he had to take out a membership to run in his liberal safe riding AND don't forget this guy did not pay any taxes in Canada for 36 years.

Bill, you neglected to mention a very significant point that has already been documented in a Gary Mason column. Most notably that Bornmann accused Clark of bribing Basi and Virk. Clark was quoted in the Mason column stating that accusations were made but they were proven to be false.

It's not technically possible to claim that Michael Ignatieff did not donate to the Federal Liberal party based only on the party quarterly submissions for 2008. It's only true at this point in time to say that he did not make any donations big enough to exceed the reporting thresholds for any of the 4 quarterly submissions.

Once the 2008 annual reports are released in the summer, it could turn out that Mr. Ignatieff had contributed as much as $800 to his party.

On the other hand, it's mathematically impossible for him to have contributed the maximum amount of $1100 to his party and not appear on at least one of the quarterly returns.

Michael has as much control over the Laurier Club as the Canucks coach has over season ticket holders. He can bench certain players if they are not performing the way he wants, e.g. Hedy Fry, Joyce Murray, but he has no control over the behavior of the fans, which is what Laurier Club members are, a Liberal fan club.

Interesting tidbit from the ever effective Public Eye's Sean Holman: "Here's a fascinating factoid for those paying attention to former provincial Liberal campaign co-chair Patrick Kinsella. According to Election British Columbia, between 2005 and 2007, Mr. Kinsella's companies Progressive Holdings Ltd. and Progressive Strategies Ltd. donated $74,714.00 to the Liberals. But the party's most recent financing report - which covers the period from January 1 to October 29, 2008 - records no donations from Mr. Kinsella or those two firms."

Thanks Darcy - I always strive for accuracy and am always willing to correct any mistakes, so I appreciate your comments.

I don't think I suggested you were a Liberal Party member, it was just an interesting collection of people around Canada Payphone - sorry you lost money on it, and it was not my intention to infer that those who invested were federal Liberals - Patrick Kinsella for one would be most aghast.

My God Bill. It looks like some folks who arn't called Anon, are reading your blog. The more the merrier especially if they can add to the debate. This story has a lot of twists and turns and you help sort out some of it.

I have no idea who "The Great Satin" is but at least he calls himself something that keeps his stuff from being thrown in the mix of anons. So really how would we know if she or he, is great or not.The person does come up with a lot of information and for that we should all be gratefull.

Hi Bill, Thanks for your prompt response. Could you could see your way clear to deleting your comments about me in this article? Don't seem to contribute much to your arguement, other than reporting that I was dumb enough to invest in a bad stock. Trust me, it hasn't been the only one.Cheers,Darcy

Curious, don't you think, that Mr Rezac is so relectant to admit to the company he keeps?

I wonder why.

And I'm certainly going to keep a copy of Bill's article and Darcy's strange reaction. As well as the submissions of a couple of other 'new' commenters who seem rather overly concerned with what a left-wing blogger is 'saying' about their habits and friends.

To Greater Satan - thanks for pointing out the inadvertent error on David Herle and Scott Reid - that has now been corrected.

I am always willing to correct any factual mistakes I make - and I'm obliged to those who point them out.

I have no editor here, no staff and often little time, so occasionally a error is made.

As to your other comments, you obviously don't like the content of my article - fair enough.

If you want to connect my clients to my reporting, go ahead.

If they have any complaint, it's that I can't write about my clients! I occasionally may mention them in passing in connection with a current event but I don't write about them because it's an obvious conflict of interest.

I do disclose my connections in some situations so my readers will understand where I'm coming from but I think most know I'm a left of centre commentator who owns his own business and calls it like he sees it.

Bill Tieleman and Senator Larry Campbell, former Vancouver mayor

Jim Sinclair, Cindy Oliver, Ken Georgetti and Bill Tieleman

Bill Tieleman's coverage of the Basi-Virk/BC Legislature Raid Case praised by other journalists:

"This outstanding piece of journalism, in The Tyee, is the work of a journalist who has been deeply involved with this issue from the start and this article should be passed on as far and wide as possible."

"Bill Tieleman from 24 hours . . . . If you want to know about this trial and about this case, you have to read his blog – I mean, that’s just all there is to it – it’s required reading if you want to understand the BC Legislature Raid situation."

- Mike Smyth, columnist, The Province

"The Basi-Virk case....you’ve probably sat through more of these hearings and gone through more of the files and written about it than any other journalist in the province."

- Bill Good, host, The Bill Good Show, CKNW/Corus Radio Network

"Tieleman ...has done a first-rate job covering the trial."

- Paul Willcocks, columnist, the Victoria Times-Colonist

"Tieleman, who marries a considerable journalistic talent with one of the smartest political minds in the province, has been writing more web-exclusive material. And his coverage of the Basi-Virk trial is a must-read -- whether you're an insider or an outsider."

"24 Hours, the Vancouver paper that has been leading the coverage, as well as the hints of conspiracy in B.C."

- Norman Spector, columnist, Globe and Mail

"Although the major media in this circumstance has been giving the case significant coverage, Tieleman's reports on his blog have been outstanding.

The entire cut and thrust of legal wrangling and arguments has been covered and is accompanied by considered analysis.....His blog site coverage of the Basi-Virk trial is the most in depth treatment of one of British Columbia's biggest political scandals."

- Bill Bell, columnist, The North Shore News

"Mr. Tieleman has published online dispatches which, freed from the limitations of newsprint space or broadcast time, can run at length. They also remain available for those select readers who become obsessed with a case also known as Railgate.....

In another bizarre twist to a story with no shortage of them, Mr. Tieleman went to work one day in December only to discover his office had been ransacked. Bookcases had been tipped over and papers strewn, but nothing was missing.

To top it off, a press kit for the self-published novel The Raid, written by a retired military officer in Metchosin and featuring on its cover a photograph from the 2003 police raid, had been left in a conspicuous place."

- Tom Hawthorn, columnist, The Globe and Mail

Nobody has followed the Basi-Virk affair over its past five years with greater diligence than local journalist, Bill Tieleman....Tieleman deserves our thanks, a fistful of journalism awards and some merit citation for citizenship.